When Cristiano Ronaldo decided to sign for Al-Nassr, it wasn’t just a left-field move for his footballing career.
Ronaldo is much more than just a footballer. He is an extremely wealthy global celebrity with 528m Instagram followers, 159m on Facebook and 106m on Twitter. He is a gigantic and influential commercial entity in his own right. He is as focused on football as he is on building his empire off the pitch.
In that sense, his move to Riyadh was the most significant of his career to date. Ronaldo has previously been operating in the same market, simply swapping European giant for European giant by moving between Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus. A jump to Al-Nassr is a major departure from his established pattern.
Ronaldo will turn 38 on February 5 and, despite what he continues to argue, his career is on the downturn. After turning United toxic by publicly criticising just about every facet of the club in an unauthorised interview with a controversial talk show host, he went against advice from his agent, Jorge Mendes, and moved to Saudi Arabia for “a new challenge” – and £173million per year.
That figure is understood to be made up of £62m for playing football, while the rest is derived from image rights, commercial deals and becoming an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s 2030 World Cup bid. According to the Telegraph, the ambassadorial role is one he previously turned down two years ago.
Those astronomical figures cloud every consideration that comes after. After all, he is hardly going to struggle to get by on £3m per week. But given he has spent his entire career building a brand, collecting sponsors and brand associations, it is worth examining just what a move to Saudi Arabia means for Ronaldo.
His website highlights his eyewear, underwear, footwear and fragrance ranges, as well as listing his 16 associated brands. Those brands include well-known names like Nike, as well as a hotel chain, hair and skincare brands, a real estate portal, a multi-level marketing company and a cryptocurrency exchange.
Just one of the 16 companies listed responded when contacted Mirror Football, with video gaming brand Strikers Inc refusing to comment, but industry experts believe they will be considering their association with Ronaldo now that he comes with an association with Saudi Arabia.
‘Less valuable to brands’
“Every chief marketing officer of his sponsors is probably wondering if they should keep their relationship,” says Ricardo Fort, a sponsorship and marketing expert who has previously worked for Visa and Coca-Cola. “First, there is the ‘invisibility factor’ – playing in Saudi Arabia will make him much less newsworthy than in a Champions League club.
“Then there is the ‘Saudi effect’ – all the negativity that the country brand conveys. He will be less valuable to the international brands and a lot more [so] for the local ones. At the end of the day, Cristiano is likely to increase his sponsorship profits but by sourcing a disproportionate part of them only from Middle Eastern brands.”
The “invisibility factor” is heightened by the fact that the vast majority of fans around the world will be unable to watch Ronaldo play for Al-Nassr, given the Saudi Pro League only has a broadcasting deal for the Middle East and North Africa.
The importance of that factor is dampened by Ronaldo’s extraordinary reach, according to Amar Singh, head of content and communications at MKTG Sports and Entertainment.
“Ronaldo was named the world’s most marketable athlete last year – he is way ahead of any athlete in the world when it comes to the audience and reach he can deliver via his social platforms and the market demand for him,” Singh says. “So in many ways he transcends the team he is playing for. But his marketing team will have to work extra hard to keep him top of mind outside of Saudi Arabia, if that’s an objective for them.”
Human rights
Riyadh is well outside of the footballing mainstream and, as a new home, it also brings with it several other issues for Ronaldo. Amnesty International has described his move as part of a “wider pattern of sportswashing” in Saudi Arabia and called upon Ronaldo to “speak out about the myriad of human rights issues in the country.”
Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman have been accused of executing people without a fair trial and crushing dissent by sentencing activists to huge prison sentences. The assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents at the Istanbul consulate in October 2018 and subsequent cover-up shocked the world and highlighted the authoritarian nature of the country’s regime.
Ronaldo, as a very famous face of Saudi Arabia’s attempts to rebrand itself as a sports nation, has now chosen to be associated with the country’s actions. That could have knock-on effects.
Singh explains: “Human Rights groups, socially conscious brands affiliated with him, consumers and fans might use this moment to call on Ronaldo to speak in support of some of the causes or pressure groups related to challenges in the region, or even condemn the Saudi state, which I can’t see him doing.”
Fort says international brands will already be operating in Saudi Arabia anyway, but Ronaldo’s move there will just heighten the visibility of their involvement in the Kingdom.
“It is possible that many of the brands associated with Ronaldo start to be pressured by fans and NGOs to terminate their relationship with him,” he says.
Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School, agrees. “It is important to remember that Ronaldo’s partners are typically brands and corporations operating globally,” he says. “Hence, they are already doing business in places such as Saudi Arabia. In this case, Ronaldo may help some commercial partners to develop their presence or establish new market entry.
“Of course, there will be partners, particularly in Europe and North America, that are nervous about Ronaldo’s move and one should expect some to end their deals with him in due course – associations with the likes of MBS may prove to be rather too much to take.”
Ronaldo’s move will bring with it a fair share of reputational damage, as well as vast amounts of money. Whether any of it sticks remains to be seen as he sees out the last few years of his career in Riyadh.
